Autumn Leaves (Watty Awards 2013)(Editing)

Chapter 21

Three Days Later

“Ty,” someone said as they shook his shoulder. “Ty, it’s seven o’clock. You wanted me to wake you up.”

Tyler opened his eyes. Cassidy stood over him. He nodded at her and she left the room. Good; she hadn’t woken up Nicki. She was on her side facing him, sound asleep. He watched as her chest moved gently up and down as she breathed. He planted a kiss on her forehead before sneaking out of bed.

“Hey sweetie,” his mom said as he walked sleepily into the kitchen.

He rubbed his eyes and stretched. “Hey mom.”

Tyler looked at the counters. They were littered with ingredients for pancakes. Today was Nicki’s birthday, and he decided he would surprise her with breakfast in bed. The biggest surprise: he was going to cook. His mother offered to help him make the batter, and he accepted gratefully.

“She’s going to love this,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He knew she would. Nicki had begged and begged him not to get her anything for her birthday. He told her he wouldn’t. But he did. He would make her think that the pancakes were her present, and surprise her with it later.

His mother had already made all of the necessary arrangements for that night. They were going to throw her a surprise party. She had invited all of his old friends. He missed them like hell, and he wanted them to meet Nicki. His mom had picked up a huge cake, candles, and party decorations. Tyler couldn’t wait.

He mixed the ingredients in a bowl as his mother added them in.

“So,” she began, “are you two alright now?”

Tyler nodded his head. “We were always alright. I was just really overwhelmed that day. I don’t know what hit me,” he explained.

“I know, hon. I’ve been there before.”

“With dad?” he asked.

“When we first started dating. You really love her, don’t you?”

He stared down at the batter. More than he could ever say. He gave her a roundabout answer.

“I don’t think I could live without her.”

She smiled. She had been waiting for this day since he was a kid. Somewhere inside, he always thought that he had disappointed her by wanting to stay single. She was constantly reminding him that life isn’t worth living if you aren’t with someone you love. Back then, he didn’t understand. Now it was clear as day.

From then on, they worked in silence. His mom cut up the bananas while he opened the bag of chocolate chips. Nicki always said that banana chocolate chip pancakes were her favorite thing to eat, but she wouldn’t touch them because she could eat twenty of them. A smile started to spread across his face. She was so strange; he loved it.

Twenty minutes later, Tyler had a heaping plate of pancakes. They looked pretty damn good. He got the syrup out of a cabinet and poured orange juice into a tall glass. He placed everything on a tray before stepping back to take a look at his work.

“It looks really good, Ty. I’m proud of you,” his mom said as she kissed his cheek.

He chuckled. “Thanks mom. I’m pretty proud myself. Nicki deserves most of the credit though. She’s been teaching me how to cook.”

She put a hand to her heart. “I really love that girl, Ty. Don’t you ever leave her. I’m telling you, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

“I don’t plan on it.”

He knew very well what he was implying. His mother did, too. She started to cry and he pulled her into a hug.